Looking to play again, without Windows 10

[michaeldcannaday 42]

Of course with my windows 10, SimCity rush hour (deluxe) won't run but if I were to get a cheap windows xp used laptop, would I have any problem getting SimCity 4 rushhour to run on it?  And does it make any difference if it's a disk or digital (origin/ steam)  ?

[catty-cb 4,411]

1 hour ago, michaeldcannaday said:

 And does it make any difference if it's a disk or digital (origin/ steam)  ?

If you go digital and I would seriously recommend steam or gog as origin is a bit dodgy, then SC4 Deluxe will run ok on Windows 10, heck I'm using Linux Mint and apart from some tweaking to get the resolution sorted out the Steam version works great .... and all my plugins and regions all work as normal.

[CorinaMarie 29,771]

7 hours ago, michaeldcannaday said:

... if I were to get a cheap windows xp used laptop, would I have any problem getting SimCity 4 rushhour to run on it?

Advantages:

• Disc based game will install and run without the SafeDisc DRM thinger interfering.

Disadvantages:

• May not have sufficient RAM (you'd want 2 GB)
• Built-in graphics my not be up to the task for DirectX hardware rendering
• Built-in graphics may not have sufficient VRAM
• Hard disk will likely be a platter drive (SSD would be better)
• Should be kept isolated. (No connecting to the internet for safety reasons)
  • Any custom content should be transferred to it via a flash drive or similar

For a couple years I played on a Dell Optiplex Desktop (circa 2004) with 2 GB RAM, a 256 MB AGP graphics card, and an IDE platter drive while using NAM 36 (no RHW or other fancy selections) and minimal plugins (150ish MB including basic options like SAM and FARRs in NAM). That was running a 32-bit version of XP. The speed was acceptable to me, but far from optimal.

I did have to edit the two SC4 graphics files to make it consider my card as fast. Even then, rotating a fully treed, agrarian developed Large city tile with Shadows set to low would take 10 - 15 seconds before the graphics caught up. I later tossed a used 60 GB SSD in it and that helped with load times, but made no difference with regard to graphics speed.

[rsc204 21,836]

Corina has highlighted some important things to consider.

13 hours ago, michaeldcannaday said:

And does it make any difference if it's a disk or digital (origin/ steam)

The disk version doesn't work under Windows 10, because the driver required to validate the on-disk DRM were removed when Windows 10 was released. It was subsequently updated in Windows versions Vista through 8.1, but unlike Windows 10, there are workarounds for older Windows versions.

If you get a digital version, it will not suffer from this issue and SC4 itself plays fine under Windows 10. Since you have disks, you should be eligible for a free digital copy from Origin, you just need to provide proof of purchase, like a valid product key. For complicated reasons, if you buy SC4 (with some form of money), on Origin, you'll be stuck with a borked version without the official Maxis patches, and unable to apply them separately. However, this CD-Key redemption version does not seem to have the same flaw, so like all other digital editions it's pre-patched and ready to use. Otherwise wait for a sale and GoG or Steam sell it for around 5 ($/€/£), but the GoG version is DRM free and has other advantages too, so it's what I recommend. But note the different vendors do little more than package the game differently, the actual game itself is unchanged from the original, unlikely to ever see another update and identical regardless of where you get it from.

5 hours ago, CorinaMarie said:

For a couple years I played on a Dell Optiplex Desktop (circa 2004)...

From my experience, a 2004 computer whilst meeting/exceeding the required specs for the game, doesn't quite cut it in 2020. I'd also suggest @michaeldcannaday you reconsider buying a laptop, even for light gaming like SC4, they just aren't anything like as capable. If you want an XP machine, most of what's available is really junk, albeit at junk prices.

I have a large desktop rig, but a while back was offered a Mac Mini (late 2009 model) for a silly price. I used Bootcamp (part of MacOS) to install Windows XP, literally you can set the machine thereafter to boot Windows and ignore it's a Mac, I know I did. What's great about this, it's small and makes a perfect 2nd machine, it'll sit under most monitors. I used it for testing mods/tinkering. But specifically in regards to SC4, the base model version, with 2GB RAM (Windows XP can't use more) and a NVidia 9400M GPU, is a perfect match for SC4. I could play in 1080p, with a full NAM install including RHW and a decent amount of mods and performance was only marginally behind a high end 2013 desktop. This with its standard 5,400 HDD, replace that with an SSD and you'll improve loading times and marginally, in-game performance too. A suitable Crucial BX-500 240GB costs around 30 ($/€/£) these days. Given these are 'old' Apple, they are pretty reliable machines, that now go for around 100 ($/€/£), but you can find them for less. Even if you had to get a second hand monitor, you're all in for 200 ($/€/£), which for a long-term SC4 machine that's also discrete, it's a pretty reasonable investment IMHO.

[City_Slider 2,716]

Yesterday was the last Day for us to go shopping. befor the "Totaly Lockdown" starts. I found 5 Games of CS4Deluxe (DVD Version), And... i payed 15€ for all of em. Good Deal

[City_Slider 2,716]

BTW... maybe this is helpfull:

 

[Flann 1,709]

SimCity 4 is currently on sale for $5 on GOG

https://www.gog.com/game/simcity_4_deluxe_edition

[michaeldcannaday 42]

thank you all!  I do have SimCity 4 Deluxe on Origin and for whatever reason, it won't even boot on my windows 10... I don't mind paying a little money to get it on Steam or GOG, but I just want to make sure I can make it work first before hand...unless there's something on Origin that is preventing it from running that woudn't be the issue from Steam/ GOG...?

[michaeldcannaday 42]

well everyone, it works!  I downloaded the version from GOG and windows 10 gives me no problem.  Now, trying to transfer my old files (plugins, regions) from my old maxis folder onto the GOG games SimCity folder works just fine, but it's not showing on the game...what am I doing wrong??   

 

[Cyclone Boom 17,016]

7 minutes ago, michaeldcannaday said:

well everyone, it works! 

Glad to hear it!

 

7 minutes ago, michaeldcannaday said:

Now, trying to transfer my old files (plugins, regions) from my old maxis folder onto the GOG games SimCity folder works just fine, but it's not showing on the game...what am I doing wrong??

There should be a Documents folder made in your user area which is where plugins and regions go:

C:\Users\<Username>\Documents\SimCity 4\Plugins
C:\Users\<Username>\Documents\SimCity 4\Regions

Try copying them inside of these folders respectively.

For the regions, all subfolders inside of Regions will be for each individually. The game should then load them to display from the region list selection.

[michaeldcannaday 42]

Thank you Cyclone!  That works perfectly!!!! Thank you all!! 

[michaeldcannaday 42]

15 hours ago, Flann said:

SimCity 4 is currently on sale for $5 on GOG

https://www.gog.com/game/simcity_4_deluxe_edition

Thank you!!!  You saved me from buying a new windows xp laptop and then buying it a disc on amazon. You saved me a hell of alot of money & time Now I'm playing it perfectly for $5 off GOG on my windows 10, thank you truly!!  Happy Holidays